A former Manchester United star has revealed why he quit the glitz and glamour of the Premier League to become a priest.

Philip Mulryne played alongside the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane at United, but was earlier this year ordained as a Roman Catholic priest.

Mulryne, 39, who won 27 Northern Ireland caps , was part of United’s 1995 FA Youth Cup winning side with Philip Neville, but made just five senior appearances in five years at Old Trafford before moving to Norwich in 1999.

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Despite earning £10,000-a-week at Norwich and dating the model Nicole Chapman, the former midfielder was unhappy with the glamorous life of a Premier League footballer, writes the Mirror .

Dele Adebola of Birmingham City is tackled by Mulryne (Image: Getty Images Europe)

Mulryne has now admitted that he was not getting the fulfilment he wanted from the high-roller footballer's lifestyle.

Speaking to The Times, he said: “I didn’t like the trappings of being a footballer — the money, the nightclubs and the attention of women. While that was fine for a while, when I got to my late 20s I started to feel really dissatisfied. I loved the game, loved the training. The lifestyle was bringing me pleasure but nothing lasting.

“I was buying three or four cars a year because I was getting bored and always wanting more. It was the same with clothes and houses.

“I started asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ And, basically, the answer was that nothing was ever enough. I was constantly restless, born out of the fact that I thought this way of life was meant to make me happy.”

Mulryne first felt empty and stopped playing in 2009.

Ordination to the Priesthood of Fr Philip Mulryne (Image: Irish Province of the Dominican Order and www.dominicans.ie)

He returned to Northern Ireland for a year, with the intention of heading back to England and finding another club following his short break.